Climbing sessions with Will Clarke

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One last quick bite before the three hill climbs start in earnest.
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Earlier that morning at the Sands Beach Active Resort he made sure that his bike tires had the correct pressure.
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A few final instructions from coach Mark Pearce and it is time to go close to threshold for 20 minutes.
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Up, up and up we go and surprisingly there was very little vehicular traffic there.
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Abot half way during the first session he came upon some very heavy bike traffic.
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Among those further up was Lululemon event manager Travis McKenzie and team mate Ronnie Schildknecht, but the Swiss Pro and McKenzie were on a slightly more mellow effort schedule.
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Will Clarke rode most of this roughly 7% climb in his aerobars and no one else on the mountain seemed to go his speed.
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A very focused Will Clarke approaches the end of one of those 20 minute sessions.
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The British Pro recently switched from 172.5mm cranks to 165 ones and he averaged over 300 watts during these sessions.
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With one of the climbs in the books a quick chat with the coach and then it is time to head down the mountain for another session.
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Will Clarke rides past some inspirational chalk messages during another of his climbs.
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It was indeed very rare for Clarke to get out of the saddle.
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The climbing here is relentless but Clarke looked very calm and strong as he pushed forward.
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During the final session up the mountain the pain of the effort was finally visible.
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He started a bit higher up on the climb so he could finish his third session on the very top of the Tabayesco climb.
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A quick chat with coach Pearce after the final climb was done.
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The recovery food and drink found Will Clarke well. But this was not all he ate.
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After that quick snack it was time for Will Clarke to ride another 1:15 hours to finish that 4 hour effort.
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